1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dressings, in particular dressings for covering a portion of the anatomical surface of a living being, the use of a film being able to adhere to the skin for forming such dressings and a method of treating a portion of the anatomical surface of a living being, especially a protruding part of the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, dressings for the treatment or prevention of wounds or pressure sores or even unbroken skin are essentially flat dressings which are sufficiently moldable to be applied to flat or slightly curved areas of the body. Such flat dressings are not very suitable for applying on protruding parts of the body or joints such as elbows, heels or especially the tips of fingers or toes or parts of the body having a very pronounced curvature such as the inter digital area as they often wrinkle and focus stresses in the dressing often causing slipping of the adhesive and unintended detachment of the dressing.
Published European patent application No. EP 0 676 183 A1 discloses conformable adhesive bandages which are stated to be extremely conformable, and yet resilient enough to maintain their shape after being subjected to forces caused by movement of the wearer. The bandages contain at least three elements: the backing material, which protects the wound-covering portion of the bandages; the wound covering portion of the products which contacts the wound and provides a reservoir for the wound exudate; and the adhesive composition, which holds the product in place around the wound. Furthermore, it is stated that the recovered energy of the bandage disclosed in EP 0 676 183 A1 should be relatively high, so as to assure that the bandage will not permanently deform in use. Such recovered energy built into a dressing or bandage will inevitably try to retract it to its original shape if stretched during use and expose the skin to a significant stress which will cause nuisance to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,700 discloses pressure sensitive adhesive sheet materials such as tapes and surgical drapes, which are stated to be conformable and have viscoelastic properties similar to human skin. Furthermore, it is stated that the materials exhibit stress relaxaton with time, having relaxation properties to recover to near original unstressed length when all stress is removed.
Published European patent application No. EP 0 457 977 A1 discloses a wound dressing comprising a pad of soft polyurethane foam, one surface layer of which is hydrophilic and a backing layer of which is hydrophobic and a sheet or strip of a soft conformable polyether foam having an adhesive on one surface thereof, the dressing showing a sufficient elasticity to readily conform for extended periods of time to difficult areas such as elbow joints and knee joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,949 discloses an elastic polyetherester non-woven web formed by melt blowing fibres composed of a polyester.
A liquid plaster in the form of a solution of a polymer in ethyl acetate is known under the trade mark Nobecutan(copyright). Such a plaster will naturally conform to the area onto which it is applied but is highly unsuitable for application on broken or irritated skin due to the content of ethyl acetate giving a severe local irritation.
Until now no reference discloses dressings being able to adhere to the skin, the dressings being flexible and moldable so as to adapt to the contour of the part of the body to be covered and the dressings adhering to the skin and being able to adapt to and follow the movements of tips or roots of fingers or toes without exposing the skin to a significant stress after application and being applicable directly on broken or irritated skin without unpleasant feeling.
One object of the invention is to provide a dressing being moldable and flexible so as to be able to adapt to the contour of the part of the body to be covered and the dressing adhering to the skin and being able to adapt to and follow the movements of the skin of especially tips or roots of fingers or toes. Another object of the invention is to provide a dressing which may prevent, e.g., wearing or abrasion damages, the dressing being provided with a surface which may be adapted to the environment in which the dressing is to be used giving a longer effective time of use for the dressing between the change of the dressing.
A still further object of the invention is to provide processes for the preparation of such dressings.
The dressing of the present invention fulfills the above objects to a degree not seen hitherto.
The invention relates to a dressing for covering a portion of the anatomical surface of a living being, the dressing being able to adhere to the skin, the mucosa and/or a wound on any portion of a living being, and the dressing being moldable so as to adapt to the contour of the part of the body to be covered.
Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of a film being able to adhere to the skin, the film having a low modulus when deformed and a deformation created before or during application of the dressing for forming a dressing for covering a portion of the anatomical surface of a living being.
The invention also relates to a method of treating a portion of the anatomical surface of a living being comprising applying a dressing being able to adhere to the skin, the dressing being moldable so as to adapt to the contour of the part of the body to be covered.